Piscataqua River Bridge

History

The development of the Interstate Highway System required new roads to be constructed and existing ones to be absorbed into the network. In New Hampshire, Interstate 95 (I-95) was routed along the New Hampshire Turnpike, which had opened to traffic in 1950, and paralleled U.S. Route 1 through New Hampshire's Seacoast region from the Massachusetts border to the Turnpike's end at the Portsmouth Traffic Circle. A gap remained between the traffic circle and the beginning of the Maine Turnpike on the other side of the Piscataqua River, filled by the US-1 Bypass. It crossed the river using the two-lane Sarah Mildred Long lift bridge, which was far from meeting Interstate Highway standards for four-lane highways and fixed spans.

The decision was made to extend I-95 north from the New Hampshire Turnpike at Portsmouth and south from the Maine Turnpike in Kittery, and join the roads with a high-speed fixed span over the Piscataqua. A drawing of the proposed bridge was published in area newspapers as early as June 1967.

Work on the bridge began in 1968 and was completed in 1971, with the I-95 extension to it in Maine completed the following year. The bridge was officially opened on November 1, 1972, in a ceremony attended by the Governor of New Hampshire, Walter R. Peterson Jr., and the Governor of Maine, Kenneth M. Curtis.

The bridge's steel construction received an award of merit in 1973 from the American Institute of Steel Construction, and in 1974 was the winning entry a contest by the United States Department of Transportation as the country's outstanding bridge.

The bridge was repainted in the early 2000s.

A major rehabilitation and repair project began in 2019 and was expected to last until 2022.

In June 2025, a group of stakeholders—including law enforcement, mental health providers, and officials from New Hampshire and Maine—began to meet regarding suicide prevention for the bridge, such as possibly installing suicide barriers.

Incidents

Tragedy struck the site about midway through construction. On June 24, 1970, two of the I-beams supporting the staging area on the Kittery side of the span gave way, plunging four workers 75 ft to their deaths and leaving another seven injured. A memorial plaque was placed beneath the bridge on the Maine side, visible from Maine Route 103.

Since the bridge opened, there have been various instances of people jumping off the structure, many (but not all) of which have proved fatal—examples of such events, along with other incidents reported in area newspapers, follow in this section.

On March 21, 1980, a 27-year-old woman jumped from the bridge after pushing her 4-year-old daughter off the structure; both survived what was believed to be a murder-suicide attempt. The incident led to Maine and New Hampshire working to identify exact state boundaries on the bridge, in order to determine jurisdiction. On October 12, 1989, a New Hampshire contractor died of head injuries while working on the bridge; his employer was later fined by OSHA for safety violations.

On March 11, 1998, an empty car, still running, was found on the bridge—its driver was believed to have jumped, but no body was found.

On July 8, 2000, a man jumped from the bridge; his body was found later that month by lobstermen. On August 1, 2012, a man who had ridden his bicycle onto the bridge jumped; despite an extensive search, no body was found.

On May 5, 2022, a man experiencing a mental health crisis and threatening to jump off the bridge was successfully talked down by members of the Maine State Police following a two-hour dialogue.

In the early morning hours of August 29, 2024, officers of the New Hampshire State Police and Maine State Police shot a man on the bridge, after he exited his parked vehicle and raised a weapon. The man's body fell into the river below, and was later recovered by the Coast Guard. An investigation by the Maine Attorney General's office later determined that the man died due to a self-inflicted gunshot prior to falling off the bridge. In the afternoon of October 27, 2024, a man who jumped from the bridge was rescued by New Hampshire Marine Patrol personnel, then transported to a local hospital; per subsequent news reports, the man survived and was identified as Eli Robinson, brother of professional basketball player Duncan Robinson. On December 3, 2024, police successfully convinced a man having a mental health crisis to climb down from structure on the bridge, after he appeared likely to jump. On December 12, 2024, an officer with the Biddeford, Maine, police department was killed in an accident on the Maine side of the bridge shortly after 1a.m. as he was returning to his home in Portsmouth.

On April 30, 2025, a man jumped from the bridge and was recovered from the water below, but later died at an area hospital; media reports later identified the man as Eli Robinson, who had survived a jump from the bridge six months prior. The frequency of the suicides led the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to install signs giving contact information to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. On June 6, 2025, a man experiencing a mental health crisis and who appeared to be suicidal was successfully talked down by a Kittery police officer after straddling the bridge's railing.

References

References

1. NH General Court. "Section 228:40 Piscataqua River Bridge; Maintenance.".
2. Nationalbridges.com. "National Bridge Inventory Bridges - 021702510010800".
3. "New Hampshire Turnpike (I-95)".
4. (June 7, 1967). "Maine--N.H. Span". [[Portland Press Herald]].
5. "Maine's Interstate turns 50!".
6. (November 2, 1972). "Governors open Maine-N.H. bridge". [[The Boston Globe]].
7. Munson, Cecil B.. (November 2, 1972). "Maine-N.H. Bridge Is Open". Biddeford-Saco Journal.
8. (November 24, 1977). "Acadia Bridge-Stretching Fear Wins U.S. Environmental Award". [[Morning Sentinel]].
9. "Preserving a Valuable Existing Infrastructure".
10. Lenahan, Ian. (June 12, 2025). "Gov. Ayotte forms group to tackle I-95 bridge suicide prevention: Are barriers coming?". [[Foster's Daily Democrat]].
11. Rogers, Brad. (July 25, 2025). "Maine, NH move ahead with feasibility study for suicide barrier on Piscataqua River Bridge".
12. (June 25, 1970). "Four Workers Die, 7 Hurt in Fall at Bridge". [[Chicago Tribune]].
13. (September 2011). "Eliot Rd, Kittery, Maine".
14. (September 14, 1980). "Mother indicted for murder". [[Daily Press (California).
15. (March 24, 1980). "Was jump in Maine or N.H.?". [[Bennington Banner]].
16. (December 22, 1989). "OSHA fines N.H. company". [[Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine).
17. (February 7, 2000). "One year after bridge jump, mystery remains". [[Journal Tribune]].
18. (July 23, 2000). "Body found in ocean identified". [[Concord Monitor]].
19. (August 2, 2012). "Man jumps off I-95 bridge into Piscataqua River". [[Portland Press Herald]].
20. (May 6, 2022). "Man who aimed to jump off bridge talked down". [[Portland Press Herald]].
21. Jones, Caleb. (August 29, 2024). "Police fatally shoot man on New Hampshire-Maine bridge along I-95; 8-year-old child found dead in vehicle".
22. (August 29, 2024). "Police on N.H.-Maine bridge fatally shoot man who allegedly killed wife, find dead child, 8, in his car".
23. Feely, Paul. (April 2, 2025). "Maine AG finds police justified in shooting of NH man on Piscataqua River Bridge last summer".
24. Lenahan, Ian. (October 30, 2024). "Man pulled from river alive after jump from I-95 high-level Piscataqua River Bridge". [[Foster's Daily Democrat]].
25. Lenahan, Ian. (August 15, 2025). "'Is my family safe?' Eli Robinson's terrifying mental illness and the fight to save him".
26. (December 3, 2024). "Police talk man off I-95 bridge as mental health crisis forces highway closure".
27. Lenahan, Ian. (December 12, 2024). "I-95 bridge fatality: Maine police officer who lived in Portsmouth killed". [[Foster's Daily Democrat]].
28. (April 30, 2025). "NH State Police: Man dies after jump from I-95 bridge into Piscataqua River".
29. Lenahan, Ian. (May 12, 2025). "Juvenile dies after jump from I-95 Piscataqua River Bridge, third recent death by suicide". [[Foster's Daily Democrat]].
30. Kool, Daniel. (May 17, 2025). "Suicide prevention signage installed on Piscataqua River Bridge". [[Portland Press Herald]].
31. Lenahan, Ian. (June 6, 2025). "Man in distress safely talked off I-95 Piscataqua River Bridge after crash". [[Foster's Daily Democrat]].